


This World Isn't Ours

by stargazerdaisy



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Framework!AU, Maybe that's a good thing, Nostalgia, Possible second chances, This isn't her Grant Ward, all the references, confusing and conflicting feelings, reconnecting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10090076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargazerdaisy/pseuds/stargazerdaisy
Summary: This is not and could never be her life.She is trapped in some virtual reality withWardof all people.  The face she’s slapped on to the single cause of all her problems from the last several years.  Every time she thought she was free of him, he came back in some new, unexpected way.  Here he is again, in vivid color, holding her hand as he leads her across the platform.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, I got sucked in to the speculation regarding the Framework as well. Especially after I saw the photo of Chloe and Brett filming together, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. There's so many questions, so much that we can't know, it opens up a huge amount of possibility for fandom. Here is one possible idea...

Chaos is swirling around her. No, not around her, _inside_ her. To any outside observer, it’s a normal Tuesday morning. People are passing through the train station, on and off trains, their ultimate destinations their focus. She fits right in, just another woman heading to a departure with her boyfriend. Maybe heading out on a romantic trip, or heading home to visit family, or whatever normal, everyday reason. 

But that is not and could never be her life.

Instead, she is trapped in some virtual reality with _Ward_ of all people. The face she’s slapped on to the single cause of all her problems from the last several years. She knows, objectively, that not everything can be attributed to him. What happened with her mother was nothing close to his fault. But that doesn’t stop her from shoving all her hurt at him in her mind. (We won’t talk about her heart.) Every time she thought she was free of him, he came back in some new, unexpected way. Even though that ‘freedom’ always felt hollow, like something was missing. So here he is again, in vivid color, holding her hand as he leads her across the platform. 

She knows she’s tense. She can hide it from anyone else, but he knows her too well. His thumb rubs the back of her hand, trying to soothe her in any way possible. His eyes dart all around the space, doing his Super Spy routine, calculating angles, counting civilians, checking exit routes, but he spares a glance at her, all warm smiles and soft understanding in his eyes. Before she realizes what she’s doing, she smiles back. She catches herself, her instinct shouldn’t be to smile at him, but then her brain reminds her that it is absolutely imperative that she keeps up the cover with him. So, she puts a little bit more into the smile and forces herself to relax a bit. 

They end up at bank of lockers, Ward swiftly inserting the key and pulling out a backpack. “Is that what we came for?” she asks. “Just a backpack? Geez Ward, we could have gotten one of those anywhere.”

“Tell me then, Skye,” he replies with a teasingly condescending tone. “Where could we have gotten a backpack filled with cash, passports and IDs, and a couple of weapons? Do they carry those at the local Target?” The wink he gives takes any possible sting out of his words.

“ _That's_ what's in there? And you just happen to have that here?” she says in disbelief.

He gives her a funny look. “I have 12 of these within a 200 mile radius. It’s the life we lead, Skye. Is this really that surprising?”

She gulps, remembering Coulson telling her something eerily similar about Ward when he’d escaped from his brother’s custody. She shakes off the memory of that Ward and focuses on what’s right in front of her. She gives him a reassuring smile, “No, it makes great sense. I just hadn’t realized that’s why we were here. Give me a break, I’m a little unsettled right now.”

He puts both hands on her shoulders, ducking his head a bit to catch her eye. “I promise you, Skye. I’m going to get you out of this. I’ll keep you safe.”

She bites her lip, still surprised by the earnestness in his eyes. It reminds her of how he looked at her back in Vault D, desperately trying to get her to believe what he was telling her. She quickly nods because she’s not sure she can trust herself to speak right now. 

He continues, “Plus, I have IDs for you too. I started adding those to the packs a couple years ago. But you can’t get mad at me for the picture, okay? It was the best I had at the time.”

He looks nervous about her possible reaction, _over a picture_ , that she bursts into laughter. “I think I can handle it.” She pauses for a minute, then reaches her own hand up to squeeze his, still on her shoulder. “I trust you.”

He squeezes back and keeps a hold of her hand as he turns and continues leading her through the station, weaving through the crowd quickly but not enough to draw notice. Right as they enter the wide open atrium area, he stiffens and stops walking.

Her senses are on high alert on their own, but when she sees him scanning the room more critically and focusing on one corner, they go into overdrive. _They found us_ , her mind screams, but she controls her outward reaction. 

Casually, he turns to her, slinging an arm around her waist, then leans down to whisper in her ear. “I see six total, two to the west, one up on the second floor, two coming down from the north, and one behind that magazine stand. Do you see them?”

She peeks around him, gaze sweeping across the room, then ducks back, letting her long hair fall like a curtain around them, hoping to obscure the view for anyone looking too close. “I see them,” she murmurs back. “I think there might be another one by the vending machine.”

Ward swears under his breath. “Okay, here, take the backpack. I’ll distract them and you can slip out through that maintenance door. If you follow it back, you’ll be able to get out through the employee locker room.”

She is shocked. “And what? Leave you here at their mercy? Fat chance of that happening, Robot.”

He still is looking around the room, refusing to meet her eyes. “Skye, come on. You need to get out of here quickly. We both know I can keep them tied up long enough for you get out. So take the bag, just let me grab the guns, and when I say, go.”

“Like hell! Give me one of those guns and we’ll get out together.” No matter her confusing feelings for him, she refuses to leave him to the wolves. This Ward has been nothing but loving and helpful to her. This feeling nags at her that he deserves the chance to be the man he couldn’t be in her world (and she isn’t sure she’s ready to give up on her own chance to get to know him).

“No,” he grinds out. “I’m not risking you. I told you I would protect you, and I will.”

“Grant,” she says firmly, touching his arm and forcing him to look back at her. “I can do this. Don’t shut me out and sacrifice yourself. I can help, let me. You don’t have to do this alone.”

He looks at her, like he can’t quite believe she’s real, that she’s really trying to help him now. The adoration shining from his eyes is mixed with the very real feeling that he doesn’t deserve it. It hits her so strongly, it knocks the breath right from her lungs. She’s seen that look before. And just like _then_ , his hand buries itself into her hair as he leans forward. The press of his lips is gentle but intense, like he’s trying to pour his soul into her. She is drowning in it, she can’t tell which way is up, let alone what her own name is. All she can feel is _him_ and the dam breaks, flooding her with the memories of kissing him. How safe she felt with him, how much faith she put in him, how she had a rock solid belief that he’d be there for her. It had been ruined not long after, but now, in this moment, she feels those scarred over wounds actually begin to heal a little. 

All too soon, he pulls back and rests his forehead against hers while they catch their breath. “Are you sure?” he asks.

She nods. “Let’s do it together, Super Spy.”

He smiles at the nickname. One more glance around the room then he speaks. “I’ll take the two on the west, the magazine stand, and the vending machine. Can you get the ones in north and pick off the upstairs guy?”

She scoffs, “Please. In my sleep. I’m not your helpless rookie anymore. And I don’t even need my powers.” He raises an eyebrow at that, but she waves off the question and stick out her hand. “Hand me the gun and we’ll be on our way. Meet you at the south entrance?”

He chuckles softly and passes her the gun. “South entrance. If I’m not there in three minutes, get the hell out without me.”

She rolls her eyes again. “Shut up, Ward. I’ll see you there in two minutes. Ready? On three. One, two, three, move!”

And move they do. It’s almost unsettling how well they move in tandem. She takes down the guy on the second floor immediately, Ward crashes into the two coming from the west, knocking them against each other. The chaos she had been feeling earlier now erupts in front of them. Men, women, and children screaming and running to escape the sudden gunfire. Their pursuers are closing in, but the two of them calmly dispatch them. She had never forgotten just how impressive he was and seeing it again brings another wave of nostalgia.

They meet at the door, just like they planned, and escape out into the parking lot. Once again, he grabs her hand and drags her down the sidewalk, ducking through alleys and around corners until he finally shoves her through a doorway into an abandoned building. 

She rests against the cool brick behind her, panting. When she looks up, she sees him watching her. Upon catching her eye, he grins. “Just like old times, eh?”

She smirks back. “It was only seven this time and you had my help. Are you losing your touch, old man?”

He laughs and walks over to her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a janitor’s closet either, so I had to work with what I was given.”

She huffs a laugh of her own, then leans her head back against the wall again and closes her eyes, letting the adrenaline bleed out of her. The sheer ease of being with him again is warring with the part of her that screams to get away from him. The side of her that she always thought was betraying her, the one that never worried about her physical safety around him, even as he paraded her through Whitehall’s base in San Juan, the one that felt adrift when he left her alone with Cal, and that caused her heart to leap into her throat when she saw him in that hallway in Milwaukee, is the loudest voice right now. The other part of her brain that always reminded her of every single bad thing he’d ever done, the one that can list every SHIELD agent he killed, the one that grew thick thorny vines around her heart, protecting it from any other possible betrayals, the one that won the battle every time before, is quieting down. The fact of the matter is he is her only possible ally in this world right now. She has no clue where Jemma is and with May heading Hydra and Coulson leading the Anti-Inhuman movement, her options are very limited. Putting her trust in this Ward is about all she has left. What else can she do? 

But looking at his kind, open expression, the way he is looking back at her fondly, is beginning to soothe her fears and give her something akin to hope. Maybe in a world where so many other things have seemingly gone wrong, something is finally going right.


End file.
